Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!know!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!wuarchive!uunet!isis!ico!rcd
From: rcd@ico.isc.com (Dick Dunn)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.i386
Subject: Re: V.4 & Mach Update
Summary: what should it cost?  (suggesting discussion)
Message-ID: <1990Aug7.222716.7957@ico.isc.com>
Date: 7 Aug 90 22:27:16 GMT
References: <1990Jul31.013258.14239@nstar.uucp> <1990Aug4.224303.18882@intek01.uucp>
Organization: Interactive Systems Corporation, Boulder, CO
Lines: 46

mark@intek01.uucp (Mark McWiggins) writes:
> Turns out that the first Mt. Xinu person I spoke with was misinformed.
> The 386 Mach to be released this fall is source, not binary...
> ...He said they may come
> out with a binary version later, but are concerned about being able to
> do it at the (rather low) price he thinks the market would demand.

Naturally, I'm curious what price they think the market would demand...
but I'm even more curious what price you folks (presumably somehow
representative of the market) would like/expect/demand.

There's a whole raft of questions one might ask; let me toss out a few to
see if they will stir up discussion...

  How much do you think a 386 Mach or other system with a BSD-like inter-
  face ought to cost?  What's the max price that would make sense?

  Would you pay more for a BSDish system than for Sys V?  About how much,
  as a percentage?  Would you pay more (or less?:-) for Mach, _per_se_?
  Why?  (e.g., "cause I like it" or portability or particular features...)

  How would something like this stack up against a V.4 system?

  (Taken together, the above questions also hint at questions about what
  you think of current pricing.)

  How much difference should there be for 1-2 user vs unlimited?  (That
  sort of asks what you'd use it for and how valuable a many-user setup
  might be?)

  What are the things that would have to be there?...ought to be there?...
  would be nice?  (I'm thinking about the stuff you folks beat up on "us
  vendorcritters" about now and then, like manuals, man pages, DWB, ksh,
  X, and on and on...)

Oh, yeah...I suppose I should toss in a disclaimer:  I'm just a stupid
techie who's sort of intrigued by the idea of Mach on a 386.  This isn't a
market survey and I don't know how to write such things anyhow.  ISC isn't
planning a Mach-related product that I know of; i.e., if they are, I'll be
as surprised as the rest of you.  I'd like to know what other folks here
see/want in the future.  OK, is that enough waffling?

OK, folks..what does it all mean?
-- 
Dick Dunn     rcd@ico.isc.com -or- ico!rcd       Boulder, CO   (303)449-2870
   ...Are you making this up as you go along?